Umm al-Qura University (Arabic: جامعة أم القرى‎) is a public university in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It was established as the College of Shari`a (Islamic Law) in 1949 before being joined by new colleges and renamed Umm al-Qura by royal decree in 1981. Umm Al-Qura university is primarily an Islamic university that offers degrees in Islamic Law and Arabic language studies. However, it offers degrees in medicine as well some applied sciences. In 1949 King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud established the College of Shari'a (Islamic Law) in Makkah, making it the first higher education institution in the country. It constituted the kernel of Umm Al-Qura University and its most prominent college. It was followed by the establishment of the Teachers' College in 1952. This continued until 1959 when the College of Shari'a took the responsibility of teachers' preparation and became the College of Shari'a and Education. In 1962 the College of Education was established as an independent college. In 1971 the Colleges of Shari'a and Education became part of King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah and constituted its branch in Mecca.